Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

We plan to exploit this opportunity in a sustainable manner. The Department and its agencies will establish a proper licensing and testing system. The fact that I would welcome these developments does not mean we are not required to go through a thorough, independent and transparent licensing mechanism.

Regardless of how I distribute the Celtic Sea herring quota I will probably be taken to court because I will upset someone. When the quota for a valuable stock such as herring significantly increases, as occurred in the past year, everyone wants a piece of it. We also have a herring fishery off the west and north-west coast, close to County Mayo, which was historically larger than the herring fishery in the Celtic Sea. The Department is in the process of drawing up a management plan for this stock to enable the herring fishery in that region to achieve similar levels of growth as the herring fishery in the Celtic Sea. I am engaged in a consultation process and have invited all the stakeholders to comment on an initial proposal from me on the distribution of the valuable herring quota. All submissions have been received and we will have a round table discussion on the issue as I am legally required to listen to the views of all stakeholders before making a judgment call. As I indicated, some people will be unhappy regardless of what call I make. I am obsessed with ensuring the process proceeds correctly and all parties are given an opportunity to be heard and make their point. Ultimately, however, it is my job to make a judgment call as to how we can maximise the benefit of our natural resource of herring for the fishing community, coastal communities and the fishing industry generally.